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JAMES A. ,GLARKEQOF NEW," YORK; N. Y.

l 'Letters Patent No. 75,526, dated .March 17, 1868.

IMPRQVED FERRY-BRIDGE GURD.

@tige .dgvehnvlstrfettrt in in' time getfers zrtent mrt making .mrt rf'the tante.

Be it known that I, JAMES A, CLARVK E, of'tiheeity, county, and State'of' ew York, have invented' a new' and useful Shelf-Acting Ferry-BridgeGuard for preventing accidents in passingto and from ferry-boats; and I'do hereby declare and-ascertain my Asaid.improvements, referring to theaccompanying drawing, making apart thereof, in which.-Y

Figure 1` is a. plan. Y Figure 2 is as'ectional elevation.

The great dangerffromth carelessness of' passengers, and fromaccdentalcauses,' in hurryin'g on 'ond off- .ferry-boats has long rendered4 some'safety-guardineeessary,'bu'tthedcnltyof applying any efficient remedy'I tbetjwould not be too complex or dilcult in putting into operationhas, so far, -retarded the introduction of anything heretofore forthatpurpose. i l l My invention is made to remedy any defect heretoforeexisting, and furnishes a simple, -eicient, and cheap` -,guai d thittis'at ell times self-acting and pcrfectlyadjustable.

The construction is as follows The floating or other bridge is likethosernoiv in general use vinlall essen-A tial pnrticulars, as atna, thedrawing. The nindlasses on each side should be entirely fenced olf fromand outside of the footwaysiasat .5. The fender' et the front edgel of'the bridge, insteadV of being-a pernianent partof the' `hridgei'isindependent thereof, asate, andissupported on two slidepieees,'d, thatrun 'horizontally backhunrler the bridge. This fender is suspended etits front vby two suspension-rods or chains,.e, and at' the rear endthere is an a-rm,if, jointed to each'of the t\vo slidepieces; d, 'whichsupports it, and allows the fender cnn'eugsy movement out and in` -Inrear of'fthe fender there is an axis running across the outer edge f thebridge at "g, having'a pulley' or'wheel, h, nt each division-fra me ofthe bridge, lbetween tile-roadwayand footwrty., These pulleys areconnected, by a. cord, t', with the sliiled on each side, as clearlyseen -in the drawing, so that as the l i slides d move out andin, saidpulleys and, axis revolve yabout a quarter revolution. v`'To axis gthere -is firmlyv and securely hinged ajdrewvor guard-plank, 7c,properly braced, so as to rise and fall at its outer .end as the axisturns'. There is a'littleplay to thispiece on the nxsgto accommodateitto the varying differences ot" level vbetween the boat and bridge. 'Acounterbalance-weight, l, holds the guard up.

. The apparatus thus constructed is put'into operation-:ts follows: When,a ferry-boat is coming-'intro the slip, the guard.v k is standing up,like agate, at th'eulower end of the bridge, and preiieuts therush ofpassengers to or from the boat; until. it comes up close and strikes thefender e, driving lit in, and lowering the guard orV draw upon the boat.The boat is in the meantime hooked by the mooring-chains at the sides inthe usual way. On leaving the slip, nfs soon asvthe bont recedesfrotnthe fender, it slides forvvard, andthe dra-W 'is raised,l a barrieragainst the passage of any one who'would attempt to 'pass to or" fromthe boat,`thus presenting a. selfacting barrier, only removed when theboat is safely. in its place inthe slip and moored.

l n YH'avingthus described my new'and usefulferrybridge guard, what Iclaim as new, and for which I desire Letters Patent, isf The self-aetingdraw 7c, actuated by 'the fender` c, substantially .as and for thepurposes set forth.

` JAMESv A., CLARKE.i

Witnesses:

J. J. Gnunuouen, J. A. SMIL/'r11

